Got BLUE antifreeze for the Octy But told it must be RED

[justinbarrow]

Got a problem...I bought some blue antifreeze because thats what is in the expansion tank and was told that when i went to the counter with the blue that it will crack my cylinder head because its corrosive :eek: :eek: :eek:

I have been driving around with the blue stuff in since i got the car back i April.

I have been told it needs to be red so have now got some red, but now have to drain it all out. so have the following questions...

How easy is it to remove the plastic cover sheild from under the radiator.

Does the system self bleed or do you have to bleed manually to avoid air locks.

Finally do i need to take some other precaution as its had blue anti freeze in.

All i can put it down to is the previous keeper must of thought all antifreeze was the same no matter what colour it is, which i must admit thats what I thought by buying the blue.

Thanks for the help - Maybe i am lucky the engine hasnt gone bang by now :confused:

[yegnold]

I thought that you could put blue antifreeze in but ONLY if you completely remove ALL of the red antifreeze first?

I thought the problem was that when the blue stuff comes in to contact with the red stuff it "gels up" and fecks up your cooling system?

Have i been misinformed somewhere?

[mannyo]

Correct, it should be a pinky red (G12 or simillar), blue can cause all kinds of issues. To drain out the old you may get away with removing the expansion tank cap and disconnecting the lowest hose in the system.

[Oscar4x4]

Yep, what I've bin advised, and mine is a loverly cherry red- tastes **** tho'!

[martziniuk]

Are you sure it isn't the older G11 antifreeze? this was blue.

They have given you the pink G12 antifreeze. I'm surprised they never gave you the newer G12+ purple antifreeze.

According to Haynes it is ok to use standard antifreeze but it doesn't have the anti corrosion properties of the VAG stuff.

[justinbarrow]

Its deffinatley blue in my car and when tested with an antifreeze mix tester its very weak. Would this blue antifreeze affect the temp sensor as i have a few minor issues here with the car hard to start when its hot.

I am going to change it to the red stuff tomorrow but can anyone advise if the system self bleeds or does it have to be done manually? Just worried about dreaded air locks.

At least i have caught this before it did some major damage

[mathepac]

You will need to ensure as best you can that all the blue stuff is gone before you put in the purple stuff G12, G12+, G12++ (which turns pink when diluted appropriately).

So maybe with the bottom radiator hose disconnected, run the garden-hose into the expansion bottle and let it run until its clear.

If I remember correctly, I filled up with G12+ and went for a spin to warm the engine up with the cover off the expansion bottle to let the system bleed itself and topped up to the appropriate level once it had cooled off again.

Dilution ratios : -24C 2x G12+: 3x water, -36C 1:1, -52C 3:2.

Edited 29 October, 2008 by mathepac

[Bodge]

I bought 2 bottles of G12+ recently from Skoda, but haven't got round to doing a change yet.

I'm a bit OCD, so was going to get some distilled water and a big measuring jug to mix it up in! But I've never seen a big bottle of distilled water available, so that may just be a fail!

Is the coolant system as stupid as the ones on French cars?!

[rwbaldwin]

To drain the existing coolant:

1. Ensure the heater control is at max.

2. Run the engine until the temp guage stops rising (so the thermostat has opened. Then let the engine cool a little.

3. Drain the coolant by removing one of the oil cooler hoses (not essential but is quicker) and opening the drain at the bottom of the radiator.

4. Flush the system.

5. Close the system, refill with water and repeat above until all trace of blue is gone.

6. Refill with G12, G12+, G12++. It comes in 1.5l bottles so I suggest you use two bottles (almost 1:1).

You never get all the coolant out just by opening the drain. However, after several cycles, it has been diluted to nothing. If 500ml of coolant is left, this will be diluted by a factor of 12 each cycle.

[rwbaldwin]

...I'm a bit OCD, so was going to get some distilled water..

OCD is good:) However, G12, G12+, G12++ is formulated so that you can use tap water. I use Brita filtered water. Don't use bottled mineral water.

[devonutopia]

I've got regular coolant in mine. Has been running on it since I did my conversion to pd130. No issues and don't see why you really need the pinky stuff when other stuff does the same job. :confused: Anyone got any research / facts as to why the pinky stuff is better?

[chicken_eyebrow]

I remember making a fatal mistake when my Rover ran low on blue coolant and the Halfords stuff was red, I mixed the two and 2 months later the headgasket went

[martziniuk]

I remember making a fatal mistake when my Rover ran low on blue coolant and the Halfords stuff was red, I mixed the two and 2 months later the headgasket went

Yeah but thats an every day thing on the rovers. Was it the 2 litre model? mine started to warp too.

[mathepac]

... Anyone got any research / facts as to why the pinky stuff is better?

The man from VW says "Yes" to pinky stuff, and its more manly!

[justinbarrow]

The drain valve at the bottom of the radiator is only letting a little bit of water out (about 10 seconds worth) then it stops.

I cant even get the bloody scuttle panal off from under the radiator.

Any sugestions before i make a call to the garage

[mathepac]

Did you unscrew the cap off the expansion tank?

[chicken_eyebrow]

Yeah but thats an every day thing on the rovers. Was it the 2 litre model? mine started to warp too.

It was the 1.4, the 2 litre ones were supposed to be OK as they were the T-Series engine, it was the K-Series that had the headgasket problems. Rubbish things :(

[Lex Dysia]

it was the K-Series that had the headgasket problems. Rubbish things :(

I had a K series engine in my first car, only a little 1.1 which I thrashed till I crashed, 55k of hard miles (It was my first car and I was young) I put on top of the original 42k it had when I bought it and other than stuttering on damp days it was good as gold and seemed bullet proof.

Worst petrol engine I've had was a 1995 1.3 felicia which never ran right :(

[martziniuk]

I had the k series 1.1 too and agree it was a good little engine. Then went over to the 2 litre T series which superseded the M series, wasn't impressed.

[rwbaldwin]

...don't see why you really need the pinky stuff when other stuff does the same job. :confused: Anyone got any research / facts as to why the pinky stuff is better?

G12, G12+, G12++, G12+++ (VW may have introduced it since I started typing this post:) ) and some other compatible coolants such as Pentosin Pink are phosphate, nitrile and amine free - a requirement for VAG engines. The advanced formulation of these coolants offer enhanced corrosion resistance and thermal transfer properties.

[Tech1e]

Also using G11 (now defunct from VAG) in a G12 car will eventualy block up your heater matrix. The cores dont take to kindly to G11.

[CazzaVR]

Hmmm, I've got blue. Was G12+ when I bought the car, then we had an accident (broke rad etc) and the repair company used blue instead. Got several bottle of G12+ in the garage left over from my old Corrado, so will change it asap.

Never really given it much thought- as someone said earlier, I know there are probs when you mix the two, but thought blue would be fine on it's own...

[matty657]

It was the 1.4, the 2 litre ones were supposed to be OK as they were the T-Series engine, it was the K-Series that had the headgasket problems. Rubbish things

they were all crap unless they had the honda engine

[martziniuk]

It was the 1.4, the 2 litre ones were supposed to be OK as they were the T-Series engine, it was the K-Series that had the headgasket problems. Rubbish things

they were all crap unless they had the honda engine

I have read that it was the larger capacity k series engines that suffered more such as in the 1.8 in the Freelander.

The 2 litre T series is known to weep oil and water form the cylinder head which mine did.

[chicken_eyebrow]

Mine went in my 1.4 Rover 400, the same week a mate had his 1.8 one go in his 200 Vi and earlier in the year someone else we knew had theirs go in the 1.8 in their MG TF.

The Honda engines were great but IIRC were only available in the auto-spastic models.

Why Rover didn't make the headgaskets with the locating dowels in the first place we'll never know

Anyway, we digress!